My favorite nature photos, especially landscapes are often taken in the most brutal weather conditions. Often in snow, rain, or wind that makes being outdoors very uncomfortable. On the contrary, I don’t find many of my “blue sky” shots to have much of a mood to them. Why the correlation between extreme weather and dramatic photos? I’m not entirely sure, but I think that the sunlight is often much softer during bad weather spells. Also, precipitation and moisture in the air create a lot of mystery and drama. Perhaps a great deal of effective nature photography lives in the surreal or sublime realms? On the other hand, embracing and emphasizing the mundane is an effective technique too, especially for street photography.
As my photography years go on, I’ve come to embrace adverse weather conditions more and more.
What weather conditions have created your most dramatic photos?
Infrared photo taken in the early stages of a snow storm in Chester, New Jersey. I had finished a quick walk at some local parks, but glanced down a residential road and couldn’t resist shooting a vanishing point in the snow.
Photo taken shortly after a snow storm. The walk down to this vantage point was treacherous to say the least. I did not enjoy the bitter cold or the fright from extremely icy rocks. I do enjoy looking at the photo from home now, though.
A very gloomy morning on the Atlantic Ocean. Photo taken in Ocean City, New Jersey. The wind was strong and actually a big unnerving. Even with a tripod-mounted camera, I will keep the camera’s strap around my neck to avoid accidents in this type of weather.
And here is a blue sky photo that I like:
A blue sky above the New Jersey Pinelands is dotted with Cumulus clouds, adding the illusion of depth to some two-dimensional pixels.
Dave Blinder Nature Photography 
Stunning images David. I agree that my many of my more dramatic shots were taken on cloudy, snowy, rainy, or foggy days. One day in June, I ventured out to the Great Swamp right after it rained at the end of the day. Wild Iris were blooming and I think I captured some of my most beautiful flower images to date. But soon after I began shooting, I was attacked by what seemed like hundreds of mosquitoes. When I got home, I discovered that I was covered with bites. Next time, I will be covered in bug spray first. 🙂
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Foggy days can be great at the Great Swamp! FYI – We have a growing New Jersey photography community on facebook here – https://www.facebook.com/groups/NJ.Photos/
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Thanks so much for the invitation! I will check it out. 🙂
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I agree, I was speaking from my personal experiences and I am certainly to open to hearing what has worked best for you!
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